Past Projects

Following the massive earthquake that occurred off the coast of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia in 2004, the R/V NATSUSHIMA performed an emergency survey of the ocean region around the epicenter of the earthquake, and the progress of this mission was reported on our website.

The R/V MIRAI completed a circumnavigation of the southern hemisphere between August 2003 and February 2004, and conducted meteorological surveys and colleted observational oceanographic data in order to clarify the role of the ocean in changes in the global environment.

The predecessor Marine Science and Technology Center carried out the preparations for and ran the General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG: an international union formed to carry out geodesy and geophysical research and pursue its advancement internationally) held in Sapporo in 2003.

Nauru 99 was an intensive observation cruise that focused on the atmosphere and the ocean and was conducted in the vicinity of the island of Nauru in 1999. In order to further understand global-scale climatic change, the cruise was carried out with the objective of clarifying the role of the western tropical Pacific Ocean, one of the most prominent areas of atmospheric convection on the globe. In particular, the major topics of the cruise were the role of clouds, the water/heat balance, and air-sea interaction in this area of the ocean.